Ubuntu 11.04 Installer Fail

So I decided to take a go at Ubuntu 11.04 in a virtual machine before taking the leap and installing it for real. As I understand it, the new Unity desktop is a pretty major departure from the Gnome 2.x desktop that I’m used to, and I want to see if it’s as bad as it looks in the screenshots.

Unfortunately, I’ve yet to make it to the desktop, as Ubuntu has decided that it will take 42 minutes to download some language packs that I neither want or need.

Didn’t I tell it what language I speak as the first step of the install process? Surely this can be done later.

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I ran into this as well. I really don’t understand this either. Apart from needing Japanese and other fonts to display correctly on your desktop (even-though you don’t speak the language) I do not get why we need a translations for multiple languages once we already select are language. that is translating the user interface for every language under the sun and storing the “Translation Strings” on your hard disc. I recall OSX and Windows doing this well.

A quick fix for this, is to totally disconnect from the web during installation
temporally. disable the adapter in virtual-box etc.

It’s not that I don’t understand the potential eventual need for these language packs; it’s simply that I don’t see the immediate need for them. Ubuntu could go about downloading these in the background or as a part of the normal update cycle once the OS has been fully installed. It’s a poor first-run experience for newcomers to the the Linux fold.

You probably know this already but just in case.See the little arrow next to downloading language packs??
Click it,it will expand the window showing what’s being downloaded but also give you the option to skip downloading the language packs which cuts the install time of 11.04 down to pretty much no time.After that you’ll have the time to wallow in the glory or misery that is Unity.I find it to not be as bad as the general consensus seems to be but not great either.It’s okay but does need some time to mature.Thankful for the fall back mode.